THE Parliamentary Conservative candidate Clive Booth has, so far, thought it appropriate to criticise MP Hugh Bayley mostly in a personal and petty manner. His latest effort, a video is, pathetically, in the same style, the commentary beginning with: "When did you last see your MP?". In reply to this ambiguous question (York has approximately 80,000 voters) a few relevant facts.

Hugh Bayley is very well known in the city. His connections go back about 30 years and for most of that time his family home has been right in the centre of the constituency.

Any regular reader of the Evening Press cannot but be aware of the enormous number of visits Hugh Bayley makes to all sorts of organisations and local events. His surgeries are open to all, letters are treated with sympathy and, where possible, problems solved.

It is obvious that, in the course of a year, thousands of people have seen their MP.

The rest of Clive Booth's commentary is scarcely worth mention, full as it is of platitudes and worn out, boring phrases. It is worth mentioning that police numbers fell under the Tories, but have risen faster than ever under Labour.

Dorothy Greenwell,

Redman Close,

York.

Updated: 10:51 Wednesday, April 27, 2005